The release date for jailed rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been moved forward again, with February 23, 2028, set as the day the jailed hip-hop star leaves federal prison in New Jersey, after being sentenced to 50 months in prison for Mann Act violations last year.
The latest updated release date, which appears on the rapper’s Federal Bureau of Prisons website, marks the second time Combs’ release from prison has been reviewed. His lawyers are facing the guilty verdict he received at his jury trial last summer on two counts of transportation for the purposes of prostitution. The new February date is four months earlier than its original release date of June 4, 2028, and weeks before its final revised date of April 15, 2028.
The 1990s and 2000s rap powerhouse likely checked into a drug rehab facility shortly after beginning his sentence at Fort Dix Federal Prison in New Jersey, and appears to be using the opportunity to shorten his sentence that is served while a person works through the program. While it remains unclear whether Combs actually entered rehab while behind bars, his sentence reductions are consistent with the program’s schedule.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not comment on the reason for the change, stating that it “does not discuss conditions of confinement for any individual, including release plans.” But known reasons that the release date may be moved up include “time of good standing” and credits from approved programs and activities.
Fort Dix was chosen by Combs’ attorneys as their client’s preferred facility because it is close to his family. In October, his children submitted earnest appeals to a federal judge in New York to release their father from federal prison after more than a year in prison. Prosecutors, who failed to convince the jury that Combs was guilty of more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking, urged the judge to throw the book at him and sentence him to 10 years in prison.
Combs’ sentence of four years and two months in prison came as a second shock to the courtroom audience after the split verdict was read after his dramatic eight-week trial. Combs’ staff described years of emotional and physical abuse, which they said included sexual assault and kidnapping. Two of his ex-girlfriends — including star witness Cassie Ventura — spent hours on the witness stand describing life with the rap star, including days-long drug-fueled “hangout” sessions with male escorts.
But neither woman was convincing enough to convince the jury to believe prosecutors’ argument that Combs was involved in sex trafficking or that his company was a criminal enterprise. After the trial, Ventura and Combs found themselves co-defendants in a lawsuit brought by a hired escort who claims he contracted a sexually transmitted disease from the couple. Combs alone faces at least 70 civil lawsuits stemming from a torrent of complaints.
On the other hand, Combs’ high-fee lawyers are trying to overturn his conviction and are taking the case to the US Court of Appeals, where they claim the judge overseeing sentencing should not have taken into account the allegations related to the charges of which he was acquitted.
